 He also came on as a substitute for the naturalized Brazilian Lúcio Wagner in a World Cup qualifier against Italy on 10 October 2008.He played the full 90 minutes in another World Cup qualifier against Georgia five days later, which also ended in a scoreless draw.On 10 October 2009, Ivanov earned his fourth cap in a 4–1 away loss against Cyprus, attracting some criticism from the media for defensive mistakes.